Pile or plastic tiles for flooring and like applications

ABSTRACT

Tiles adapted to constitute by juxtaposition a continuous, plain or diversified carpet or revetment of textile, plastic or other material, characterized in that each tile is secured to a backing of same dimensions but projecting along two adjacent edges of the tile to form an embedded strip provided with means permitting the mutual engagement of fastening means provided in embedded condition under the edges of two sides of the adjacent tile, said fastening means having a thickness inferior to that of said backing so that in the assembled condition no extra thickness is produced in relation to the normal backing thickness.

United States Patent Couquet [54] PILE OR PLASTIC TILES FOR FLOORING ANDLIKE APPLICATIONS [72] Inventor: Pierre Jean Couquet, 09-Levelanet,

France [22] Filed: May 19, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 38,774

[52] US. Cl. ..52/384, 52/592, 94/7,

94/13 [51] Int. Cl. ..E04f 15/10 [58] Field of Search ..24/201 C, 213,216; 52/384-387, 506, 509, 589, 592; 94/13, 7, 384

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,247,638 4/1966 Gay..52/392 2,166,837 7/1939 Ash ..24/213 R 2,914,936 12/1959 Reinold..52/522 2,119,921 6/1938 Levy ..52/591 3,029,486 4/1962 Raymond..24/213 R 3,054,223 9/1962 OBrien ..52/391 [451 Oct. 3, 1972 3,120,0832/ 1964 Dahlberg et a1. ..52/591 3,176,364 4/1965 Dritz ..24/213 RFOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 812,671 4/1959 Great Britain ..52/392Primary Examiner-Henry C. Sutherland Att0rneyBemard Olcott [57] ABSTRACTTiles adapted to constitute by juxtaposition a continuous, plain ordiversified carpet or revetment of textile, plastic or other material,characterized in that each tile is secured to a backing of samedimensions but projecting along two adjacent edges of the tile to forman embedded strip provided with means permitting the mutual engagementof fastening means provided in embedded condition under .the edges oftwo sides of the adjacent tile, said fastening means having a thicknessinferior to that of said backing so that in the assembled condition noextra thickness is produced in relation to the normal backing thickness.

1 Claim, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDnms 1912 3,694,983

sum 1 {IF 3 PILE OR PLASTIC TILES FOR FLOORING AND LIKE APPLICATIONSBACKGROUND of the INVENTION The present invention is concerned withtiles of natural or synthetic pile tuft or moquette, or plastic tiles,or wooden floorings, or tiles or any other materials, which are providedwith mutually-engaging assembling means designed to constitute aneasy-to-instal and economical continuous flooring or wall revetment.

Ceramic tiles or the like squares are usually applied in edge to edgerelationship to constitute a flooring or wall revetment with theassistance of a suitable adhesive; wooden flooring and panels elementsare usually fixed by gluing to their supporting surface; on the otherhand, tiles currently used nowadays and consisting mainly of plasticmaterial such as polyester, polyethylene, etc...are secured by usingresin-containing glues or by heat-welding or melting; finally, carpetingtiles consisting of pile, moquette or like products are generallyassembled by sewing and secured in position by stapling, nailing or evengluing.

The laying operation requires skilled hands and is more or lesstime-robbing.

To avoid these inconveniences it has already been proposed to useflooring or wall tilesof resilient plastic material, possibly coveredwith carpet material such as pile or tuft, either secured to the surfaceof an underpadding or backing, or forming an intergal part of thisbacking or bottom layer, and formed along two adjacent sides witheyelets and along the other two sides with studs corresponding to saideyelets for assembling the tiles edge through the engagement of thestuds carried by one edge of a tile into the corresponding eyeletsformed in the edge of the adjacent tile (cf. British Pat. No. 875,327 toHuskisson.

Another proposition consisted in producing tenon and mortise engagementsalong alternate edges of adjacent tiles (French Pat. No. 1,175,582 toPiodi).

These means are not fully satisfactory as far as the edge to edgeanchoring of adjacent tiles is concerned for these tile tend to separatefrom each other and thus breaks are frequently observed, and in additionthese systems introduce an unsightly excess thickness along the tilesedges.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION lt is the essential object of the presentinvention to provide tiles or like elements for flooring and wallrevetment purposes, which comprise a carpet loop tuft, pile or moquette,or like structure, applied to a backing underpadding or bottom layerconsisting of a sheet of flexible plastic material formed with integralmeans permitting a stable and lasting edge to edge assembling of aplurality of these tiles, without any break nor any extra thickness.

To this end, each sheet comprises along two adjacent sides a narrow andcontinuous strip thinned from the under face upwards, to which a layerof hard or semihard thermoplastic material is applied, said strip beingperforated to provide female assembling elements, and along the othertwo sides, a strip similar to the preceding ones but thinned from thetop face downwards and formed with upwardly projecting male assemblingelements adapted to penetrate under the action of pressure the femaleelements formed along the strip of an adjacent tile.

These tiles are assembled with one another in series by presenting toeach edge carrying said male elements the edge formed with said femaleelements and pertaining to the adjacent tile.

In order to cause the male elements to thoroughly penetrate the femaleelements the latters consist of holes extending through one fraction orthe whole of the thickness of the marginal strips of the sheet, saidholes having a greater diameter than those formed in the hard layer, andthe male elements consist of snapfasteners moulded, integrally in thesofter plastic material of the support lined with said harder layer.

The flexible plastic supporting sheets may be formed with stria or thelike for improving their adherence to the underlying floor surface, oralternately they may be coated with a self-adherent layer duly protectedbefore the actual installing operation, but these sheets may also beglued to the support, or provided with an expanded backing layer, or afoam-rubber backing layer, in order to enhance the comfort deriving fromthe use of these tiles.

The male fastening elements have preferably a snapfastener configurationwith their heads or swollen portions formed with stria or splines topermit the egress of air during their penetration into the femaleelements of the adjacent tile which may consist of blind holes, althoughthrough holes may also be contemplated.

The layers of thermoplastic material may consist of p.v.c. and aremoulded integrally with the supporting sheet in a two-section mouldformed on two adjacent sides with the shoulders or steps necessary forobtaining the thinner marginal strips mentioned hereinabove and also, onthe other two sides, with the impressions or cavities adapted to mouldthe studs. However, this method of assembling adjacent tiles edge toedge without resorting to any external fastening means is attended bycertain manufacturing difficulties, notably in connection with theproper moulding of the male elements.

According to a modified form of embodiment of this invention, thesedifficulties may be overcome.

To this end, strips of plastic material of the type known under the nameof Flexico fasteners are welded along the sides of each tile backing orsupport; these strips are continuous and lined with two parallelmarginal grooves of substantially hook-shaped crosssectionalconfiguration, with the fastening grooves of one side opposed to thoseformed along the marginal portion of the support of the adjacent tile.

However, the simple hooking engagement of these fastening strips wouldintroduce an undesired extra thickness along the junction or marginalportions of the tiles.

To avoid this inconvenience and according to this invention, each stripof plastic material is welded under pressure to a tile supporting edgeso as to be embedded therein and simultaneously the longitudinal groovesformed in said strips are slightly shifted so as to be displacedvertically to an extent corresponding to less than the supportthickness, so that after the hooking engagement or fastening with theoppositely directed means of the adjacent support the mutually engaginggrooves of the two adjacent joined strips are free of any break and alsoof any extra thickness along said support.

Thus, by the simple application of pressure, spotless tile supports freeof any defect likely to interfere with the fastening of the relevanttile to its support are obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Carpeting, tuft, pile or like moquettetiles adapted to be assembled for constituting a continuous flooring orwall-revetment according to this invention will now be described indetail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plane view from above of a tile;

FIG. 2 is a corresponding side view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plane view with parts broken away, showing the assembling offour tiles;

FIG. 4 is a section showing on a larger scale the backing structure andthe lateral assembling means;

FIG. 5 is a similar view showing the mutual engagement of a pair ofadjacent tiles;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a mould designed for manufacturing thebacking sheet;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the marginal portion of a tileaccording to a modified form of embodiment of the support before fixinga fastening strip thereto;

FIG. 8 is a similar view, showing the assembly after welding the stripto said support and distorting the fastening grooves;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary section showing the mutual engagement oranchorage of a pair of joint-forming supports; i

FIG. 10 is a more extensive view showing the fixing of a carpet zing ormoquette pile or tuft to a backing consisting of interengaging supportmeans, and,

FIGS. 11 and 12 are plane views from above of a single tile andfour-tile assembly, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Each tile of the exampleillustrated consists of a square 1 of carpeting or the like welded to aflexible undercushion or backing sheet 2 of thermoplastic material,either directly or through an intermediate plastic layer 12 andconstituting a bottom of same dimensions adapted to be secured to afloor or wall surface. This backing sheet 2 projects laterally on twoadjacent sides 4 and 5 of the tile so as to form a continuous free strip3 thinned from the top downwards about one-half the thickness of sheet2; this projecting strip a layer 16 of hard thermoplastic material isapplied; this strip 3 and its hard lining 16 are press-moulded andduring the moulding operation male fastening elements such as studs 8are formed integrally therewith. Along the other two sides 9 and 10 ofthis tile the sheet is thinned from its lower face upwards by aboutone-half of its thickness in order to form a continuous thin strip alsoreceiving on its top surface a continuous strip 17 of hard thermoplasticmaterial; the latter has formed through its a plurality of holes 18having a diameter d somewhat smaller than that D of the holes 11 formedthrough one fraction or the whole of the strip thickness (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 shows the mutual engagement of a pair of adjacent tiles with thestrips 3 of one tile disposed under the strip 15 of the adjacent tile13, and the studs 8 of one tile 13, and the studs 8 of one tileresiliently sunk into the holes 18-11 of the other tile; thus, a firmassembly is obtained, due notably to the presence of reinforcing strips16 and 17, and the resulting the joint is free of any breaks or extrathickness.

These tiles have a square, rectangular or even curved configuration.

The backing or support-forming sheets may be adapted to be secured tothe floor or wall surfaces by gluing, nailing, or other method.

The underface of these backing sheets may be striated or honeycombed, toincrease their adherence and flexibility.

Preferably, the male fastening elements (as shown in FIG. 4) may consistof headed projections 8 corresponding substantially to thecross-sectional contour of snap-fasteners, with or without splines, andthe female fastening elements may be of elongated configuration. Ofcourse, the dimensions of the tiles and lateral strips, the number andnature of the fastening members may be modified according to thespecific use contemplated for the product, and also of the type offlooring or wall-revetment contemplated. By using tiles of differenttypes, shapes, colors and/or materials, any desired decorative effectsmay be obtained.

The backing sheet consists preferably of a thermoplastic weldablematerial and is formed in a two-section mould 20, 21; the upper section20 of this mould is formed on two adjacent sides with a projectingportion 22 adapted to form the lateral strips 3 with their reinforcinglining 16, as well as the male fastening elements 8; the other, lowerportion 21 of the mould comprises on the two other sides steps orthresholds adapted to produce the desired thinning of the strips 15lined with a hard reinforcing layer 17.

The tile 1 of the modified form of embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 to12 of the drawing is secured through any known and suitable method to abacking consisting of supports 2 of resilient flexible material, notablyplastic, having substantially the same dimensions.

This result may be obtained, for example, during the operationconsisting in welding the strips 25, 25a to the edges of the support orbacking; a set of paired parallel blades 30, 31 carried by a member 29responsive to the force of a spring 32 or a piston (not shown), andpreferably rigid with a welding electrode 28, penetrates into thegrooves 26, 27 so as to exert a pressure thereagainst while theelectrode 28 impresses and welds the strip 2 to or under the marginalportion of said backing 2 (FIG. 8).

Thus, the thermoplastic strips 25 are embedded by welding into thebacking 2 and the longitudinal grooves 26 and 27 of the fastening orassembling means are distorted as a consequence of the pressure exertedby the paired blades 30 and 31, until said groove bear on the underlyingwork bed 33.

It is thus clear (see FIG. 9) that when the two fastening strips of apair of adjacent supports or backings 2 and 2a are brought into mutualengagement since the grooves 26, 27 of one strip is inverted in relationto those 26a 27a of the other strip, in the manner well known infastening means of this type, so that a perfect hooking engagement isobtained and therefore a proper jointing of the adjacent backings,without causing breaks nor forming extra-thickness in relation to thenormal thickness e of the backing, since the anchoring means comprisetwo grooved strips 26,27 and 260 which in their assembled condition havethe same thickness e as the backing 2.

Under these conditions, it is an easy operation to fix to thisunderlayer a carpet, tufted or pile moquette, or the like, denoted l inthe drawings, or any other tile surface element, without showing anybeak of continuity between the adjacent backings 2 and without producingany extra thickness.

This arrangement is attended by a shifting of the tiles 1 in relation totheir supports or backings 2, as clearly shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, thegrooves 26, 27 uncovered for receiving the corresponding grooves 26a and27a concealed beneath the adjacent tile.

This method of making a flooring or wall-revetment should be construedas being strictly limited to the few forms of embodiments shown anddescribed herein; thus, the dimensional proportions of its componentelements may also vary, notably as far as the fastening marginal stripsare concerned.

What I claim is: V

l. A carpet tile adapted by assembling a plurality thereof to constitutea decorative floor covering of uniform thickness, which comprises acarpet member; a substratum member attached to the underside of saidcarpet member, said substratum member being flush with the carpet memberalong a first pair of adjacent edges thereof and being recessed inrespect to the carpet member along a second pair of adjacent edgesthereof; a first Z-shaped flexible thermoplastic strip member extendingsubstantially entirely along said second pair of adjacent edges of saidsubstratum member, one outside leg of said first Z-shaped strip memberbeing attached to and in the same plane as the underside of saidsubstratum member, the middle leg of said first Z-shaped strip memberbeing disposed along one vertical edge of said substratum member, andthe other outside edge of said first Z-shaped strip member extendingoutwardly along the underside of said carpet member to thejuxtapositioned edge of said carpet member; a second Z-shaped flexiblethermoplastic strip member extending substantially entirely along saidfirst pair of adjacent edges of said substratum member, one outside legof said second Z-shaped strip member being attached to and in the sameplane as the top side of said substratum member, the middle leg of saidsecond Z- shaped strip member being disposed along one vertical edge ofsaid substratum member, and the other outside edge of said secondZ-shaped strip member extending outwardly from the plane of theunderside of said substratum member for a distance substantially equalto the distance said other leg of said first Z-shaped member extendsoutwardly of said second pair of adjacent edges of said substratummember, said other selectively dimensioned so that two adjacent tilescan be interlocked: (A) with the ad acent edges of the two tiles inabutting relationship to conceal said first and second strip membersfrom the top surface of two adjacent carpet tiles, and (B) with the topand bottom surfaces of two adjacent carpet tiles in coplanar relationship to provide a uniform thickness across two adjacent carpettiles.

1. A carpet tile adapted by assembling a plurality thereof to constitutea decorative floor covering of uniform thickness, which comprises acarpet member; a substratum member attached to the underside of saidcarpet member, said substratum member being flush with the carpet memberalong a first pair of adjacent edges thereof and being recessed inrespect to the carpet member along a second pair of adjacent edgesthereof; a first Z-shaped flexible thermoplastic strip member extendingsubstantially entirely along said second pair of adjacent edges of saidsubstratum member, one outside leg of said first Z-shaped strip memberbeing attached to and in the same plane As the underside of saidsubstratum member, the middle leg of said first Z-shaped strip memberbeing disposed along one vertical edge of said substratum member, andthe other outside edge of said first Zshaped strip member extendingoutwardly along the underside of said carpet member to thejuxtapositioned edge of said carpet member; a second Z-shaped flexiblethermoplastic strip member extending substantially entirely along saidfirst pair of adjacent edges of said substratum member, one outside legof said second Z-shaped strip member being attached to and in the sameplane as the top side of said substratum member, the middle leg of saidsecond Z-shaped strip member being disposed along one vertical edge ofsaid substratum member, and the other outside edge of said secondZ-shaped strip member extending outwardly from the plane of theunderside of said substratum member for a distance substantially equalto the distance said other leg of said first Z-shaped member extendsoutwardly of said second pair of adjacent edges of said substratummember, said other outer leg of said first strip member having aplurality of longitudinal grooves to define downwardly directedhooked-shaped elastic projections and said other outer leg of saidsecond strip member having a plurality of longitudinal grooves definingupwardly directed hook-shaped cavities with elastic walls whichresiliently are engageable with said projection of said first stripmember, said first and second strip members being selectivelydimensioned so that two adjacent tiles can be interlocked: (A) with theadjacent edges of the two tiles in abutting relationship to conceal saidfirst and second strip members from the top surface of two adjacentcarpet tiles, and (B) with the top and bottom surfaces of two adjacentcarpet tiles in coplanar relationship to provide a uniform thicknessacross two adjacent carpet tiles.